Return to the Origin as a Probe of Atomic Phase Coherence
Return to the Origin as a Probe of Atomic Phase Coherence
We report on the observation of the coherent enhancement of the return probability [``enhanced return to the origin'' (ERO)] in a periodically kicked cold-atom gas. By submitting an atomic wave packet to a pulsed, periodically shifted, laser standing wave, we induce an oscillation of ERO in time that is explained …